On January 30th, 2024, I lost my Dad. In the following months, I became the poster child for depression. I searched for a sense of normalcy but found myself lost. I now had to learn how to live without him alongside my new-found feelings of grief.
Feeling destitute, my family was unsure of how to move forward. My Mom heard about the National Alliance on Mental Illness through a friend. NAMI is an organization whose mission is to provide advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives.
Each year, NAMI raises money to continue its mission through its annual event: NAMIWalks. Volunteers have the option to raise money online or attend the walk to show support.
In honor of my dad, my mom began an online page with NAMI on May 8th. By May 18th, with the support of friends and family on social media, my mom, two sisters and I raised $500 in ten days.
Where Does the Money Go?
NAMI has made many advancements through advocacy work, such as its partnership with NIMH and the FDA in creating the Accelerating Medicines Partnership (AMPSCZ) in 2020. AMPSCZ works towards breakthroughs for earlier treatments in patients with psychosis or schizophrenia.
In August of this year, NAMI Oklahoma received a grant of $10,000 to start a youth and young adult mental health advisory committee. According to Felicia Stroud, NAMI Oklahoma’s Director of Development and Events, the committee, “will allow us to expand our reach into the young adult demographic and work together with young people to amplify the importance of mental health.”
NAMI also has corporate sponsorships which enable the organization to have a broader impact. This year, from companies such as Smuckers and Johnson & Johnson, NAMI raised over $2,000,000 nationally. These funds also go toward their community events, such as NAMIWalks.
So far in 2024, NAMI Oklahoma has raised over $600,000 through local contributors. Stroud shares that, “a big portion of this funding comes from NAMI’s partnership with Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service. $70,000 of that $600,000 was from the 2024 NAMI Walk with local sponsors such as GRAND Mental Health and individual donors wanting to advocate for mental health awareness.”
Survivor’s Memorial
This year, there was a survivor’s memorial and monarch butterfly release in the Scissortail Park Gardens for those who had lost someone due to mental illness. They plan to do the butterfly memorial for the 2025 walk as well.
As people released their butterflies, I released pounds of embarrassment as well as a few tears. Seeing so many unique individuals in the same place, and feeling a connection to others also experiencing grief, I was a part of something bigger than my grief for the first time in months.
I finally understood that my feelings of shame were simply a part of the human experience. I knew I was slowly finding the path of turning my grief into something meaningful.
988
The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on our school IDs, 988, was NAMI initiated, and it is more than just a crisis hotline. If you or someone you know needs advice, to vent, or help with overwhelming grief, call or text 988. If wanted, a 988 hotline member can set you up with a free follow-up conversation with a Crisis Intervention Specialist via text, call or email.
Talking about mental health could save a life.
To start a page with NAMI for their 2025 NAMIWalk on May 17th, tap here. Registration opens on October 15th.
